Bath Time
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Oneshot that follows Something Stinks - Antonio and Jayden take a bath to get rid of the skunk smell after one invaded their home.


Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers: (Super) Samurai. This is purely fan-made.

* * *

"It's an old Samurai trick," Jayden promised Antonio. Both were standing in front of the hotel bathtub, filled with a substance that Jayden swore would help remove the stink from the skunk that had gotten into the Shiba Home and had stunk up everything, including the Samurai. Though Antonio had learned to trust Jayden with everything, there was something about the way the water looked, smelt, and bubbled that made Antonio want to run in the opposite direction.

"Samurai encountered a lot of skunks in the old days?" Antonio teased. Jayden rolled his eyes.

"A lot of Nighlok use to leave an odour," he explained and stripped down to his boxers. Very carefully he stepped into the tub, raising the water as he lowered himself in. Antonio watched as the water moved around while at the same time it seemed to stick to Jayden's body, coating him in a layer of… Antonio wasn't exactly sure what.

"And we're meant to share the tub?" Antonio asked, "I don't know about you, but bath time is my time."

"It takes a lot of symbol power," Jayden sighed, "I don't want to have to do this eight times. The tub doesn't hold all eight of us, so I figured if we doubled up, I could save some energy."

"And how long do we have to sit in that stuff?"

"It's just water, Antonio."

"No, I drink water. Fish swim in water. I clean myself off in water. That… gunk looks nasty."

"And you smell like rotting skunk. Please get in, Antonio. It's the only option."

"Tomato juice?"

"No. Get in."

Antonio stripped down to his boxers, "At least I'm not sharing a tub with Mentor."

As he got settled in, he felt Jayden starting to rub his back and he had to admit, despite the gunky feeling of the water, it made him feel great. He and Antonio were comfortable in their relationship and the level of physical intimacy they had reached, but that didn't mean Antonio hadn't thought about taking things a step further. Sharing a tub with his boyfriend, while not exactly what he had in mind, was a little romantic; in spite of the clashing smell of skunk and whatever it was Antonio was bathing in.

"You know, that feels kind of good."

"You have to lather it in for it to really work," Jayden said and took advantage of the situation to start massaging Antonio's shoulders and back. After a hard day, he knew Antonio loved it.

Antonio enjoyed the bath. First, Jayden's hands roamed around his body, getting the water to work its magic to rid him of the smell of skunk, and then the boys traded places, with Antonio massaging the water into Jayden's skin. By the end of their time in the bathroom, the boys had completely forgotten the point of the water and were making out in the tub.

A pounding on the door interrupted them, "GUYS! Are you drowning? Let me in, Emily stinks!"

"MIKE!" Emily cried from the other side. Antonio and Jayden were pulled from their moment and they sighed as they stepped out of the tub. Jayden drained the water while Antonio started to dry himself off. Jayden would be needed to get the bath ready for Mike and Emily's turn, but Antonio could find himself something new to wear (it had been agreed that all old clothes would be thrown out).

When he was dry, and smelling good, Antonio wrapped the towel around his waist and headed to the bedroom he shared with Mike and Emily and Jayden. The hotel had given all eight Samurai their own suite, with a small kitchen area, two bedrooms, and a little living room. It was nowhere near as big as the Shiba House, and very cramped with eight people, but it was cozy.

Ji had gone to pick up clothes from the hotel's gift shop while the Rangers bathed and had done his best to find something the Samurai would all like. Antonio wasn't thrilled with what Ji had brought back for him, but it wasn't too terrible and with nothing else to wear but a towel, he really didn't want to complain. He slipped into the pyjamas Ji brought back and waited for Jayden to come back from the bathroom.

After a few minutes (Antonio assumed that, like himself, Mike and Emily were going to take some convincing before they jumped into the water) Jayden finally came into the room. He put on his pyjamas and smiled at Antonio.

Antonio smiled back but he had noticed something a little strange about the way Jayden was smiling. It was like he was nervous about something. As Jayden hung up his towel on the hook behind the door, Antonio asked, "Everything okay? I didn't cross any lines, did I?"

"I'm new to this whole gay thing," Jayden said. Antonio nodded his head.

"So am I. You're my first boyfriend too."

"It's just… what happened in the tub…"

"If I crossed the line, Jay…"

"No, I enjoyed it," Jayden promised. He sat down beside Antonio, but unlike other times he didn't take Antonio's hand. He just looked at his own. There was something bothering him, "It's just… I don't know what to do now."

"We can talk about this," Antonio assured him. "We've pretty much been at a standstill for a while. Cuddling and kissing when we have the time. But we're both men. It's only natural we feel like we need more. Is that what you're talking about?"

Jayden nodded his head, "Maybe this is just harder for me because I don't know what I want."

"What do you mean?"

Jayden looked Antonio in the eye, "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I always thought that if I had the chance for a family, it would be a normal family. If I took that step with someone, it would be with a girl."

"A normal family?"

"You know what I mean."

"This feels normal to me," Antonio said. "It feels right to me. I know I promised I wouldn't do anything that made you uncomfortable, but now that we're on the topic, I have been thinking of… you know… taking that step with you."

"I don't know, Antonio. That's not the way…"

"I didn't always know I was gay," Antonio frowned, "Most of my life, I thought I'd be taking this step with a girl. But when I really thought about it, I wanted to take that step with someone I loved and trusted."

Those words hit Jayden like a truck. Though Antonio wasn't actually touched by his secret, Jayden knew he would still be hurt once the truth came out. He was, technically, lying to him as well.

"I'm having a bit of a harder time with this," he thought of his words carefully as he said them. "I love you, Antonio, I really do. I want to go farther with you one day, but I don't think I'm ready yet. There's still some things I need to wrap my head around. I'm not gay or straight. I'm bi. Both sides pull me in."

"What does that mean?"

Jayden finally took Antonio's hand and smiled, "I love you. There's no doubt in my mind about that. But before we take things further I just want to take a little more time to figure myself out."

Antonio smiled softly. It wasn't what he wanted to hear, but he could understand Jayden's side. He nodded his head.

"Think we can compromise? That bath was kind of fun. If I swear not to make you uncomfortable…"

"We do have a room to ourselves now," Jayden nodded his head. "I'm not opposed to picking up where we left off in the tub."

Antonio pulled Jayden in for a kiss and gently lowered him down to the bed.

They were interrupted again when they heard a knock and the bedroom door started to open. Mike and Emily were done with their bath and were coming into the room to get into their pyjamas. Antonio and Jayden scrambled to get into a less awkward position before the younger couple saw them but they were too late. Mike's eyebrows shot up when he saw them and Emily seemed to blush deeper.

Both were already red before spotting Jayden and Antonio, though. There was a bit of an awkward moment before all four of them nodded their heads.

"We don't ask. You don't ask," Mike said and they all agreed. Jayden got out of bed to help Mia and Kevin with their bath and Mike pulled on his pyjama pants and then left the room with a smirk. With the way the bathes were working out, he knew who the next "couple" was going to be and he was going to tease them about it.

For a moment, Antonio and Emily were alone in the room. Emily got changed while Antonio stared at the wall, giving her some privacy. When she announced it was safe to turn around, Antonio did so and bit his lip. She gave him a look.

"You didn't peek, did you?"

"No. It's just…"

"We all promised not to talk about it."

"Can we talk about it?"

Emily covered her ears with her hands, "No. I don't want to know what you two get up to when I'm not looking."

"Em, that's exactly it. It's not much. He's not ready."

"That's not what it looked like to me," Emily frowned. "There was a lot going on when Mike and I walked in, and we just caught the tail end of it."

"You know that step you and Mike took?"

"Yeah."

"Jayden's not ready for it."

"So?"

"He says it's because he's bi."

"And?"

"I don't know."

"He's not ready, Antonio. You can't force him to feel ready."

"But you're ready."

"Mike and I have been dating for much longer."

"But you're… you."

"And Jayden's Jayden," Emily sat down on the bed, "If you think I grew up sheltered, imagine what it was like for Jayden. You're both discovering new things about yourself right now, but this whole romance thing was new for him even when he was dating Amanda. He took it slow with her too, remember?"

"It's just hard waiting for him all the time, you know."

"Well, is he worth waiting for?" Emily looked Antonio right in the eye, telling him this was a serious question. "If he's worth waiting for then no matter how hard it is, you'll wait for him forever. If he's not worth waiting for, then get out."

The look in her eye turned dark, like nothing Antonio had ever seen before. She was really serious.

"Em?"

"I'm not kidding. If he's not worth waiting for then you're only going to break his heart. You'll either pressure him into doing something he's not ready for and something he'll always regret, or you'll make him feel guilty about the way he feels and he'll feel like he's not good enough for you. He doesn't deserve any of that."

Antonio nodded his head, "You're right."

"So?"

"He's worth waiting for."

"You're not just saying that, are you?"

"Of course not," Antonio moved his finger over his heart, swearing to Emily he was telling the truth, "It's just hard, but I know it's worth it."

"Good," Emily smiled. She wrapped her arms around Antonio, "It's supposed to be hard. Easy relationships never last because people forget they need to work at it. You'll always be working, and more often than you think you'll find yourself waiting for him. But he's also working hard for you, and sometimes he'll be waiting for you."

"All this from the kid with only one boyfriend under her belt."

"Mike and I had a complicated relationship, remember?" Emily giggled. "Besides, Mia and Serena talk with me a lot."

"Thanks, Em."

"Now, speaking of complicated relationships, I promised Serena I would be with her for her bath time so things didn't get too awkward between her and Ji. Mike will probably come with me to tease her, so you and Jayden can have the room to yourselves for a little longer."

Antonio chuckled, "Thank you. Again."

"Just don't take things too far," Emily waved her finger at Antonio. "Remember, I'm watching you."

"We'll keep it at a comfortable level," Antonio promised, "for both of us."

Emily gave him a warning look. Antonio shrugged, "What? No sense in waiting around forever if I'm not happy. That's not fair to either of us."

Emily smirked and nodded. She was about to leave, hearing the water from Mia and Kevin's bath draining when she turned around again and looked to Antonio, "Uh, by the way, don't get too comfortable. Mike and I do have to sleep in here with you tonight."

"Promise."

Emily smiled once more and then left. Antonio sat on his own, knowing Jayden would come back once he got the tub ready for Serena and Ji. While he waited, he chuckled at the thought of Serena and Ji sharing a tub.

Then there was a knock at the door before it opened. Antonio looked up and saw Jayden coming in.

"Sorry, I would have been back sooner, but I had to get Serena off Mike. She was threatening to kill him."

"I think I know why," Antonio smirked. He gestured to the room, "We're alone again, you know."

"I'm kind of all romanced out," Jayden admitted. "Being interrupted twice kind of kills the mood."

Antonio sighed. He would have to get Mike and Emily back for that later.

He leaned back against the headboard and smiled, "Well, there is a TV in here. Maybe we can find something we both want to watch."

Jayden scratched the back of his neck, "Look, Antonio, about what I said…"

"You don't have to explain yourself," Antonio assured him, "I'm happy where we are; I really am. I'm happy as long as you're happy. I want to take things forward, you know I do, but only when you're ready. That's the important thing."

"I'm sorry I'm holding you back," Jayden said as he got into the bed and crawled up beside Antonio. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. Antonio shook his head.

"You're worth it, Jay," he kissed his cheek, "Take your time. It's important."

"You're amazing, Antonio," Jayden pulled him into a deep kiss, suddenly in the mood for a little more romance again.

They were interrupted for a third time that night when the door swung wide open and Serena, in nothing but a towel, stormed in, followed by Emily. She gave Antonio an apologetic look.

"I'll kill him when he's sleeping. I swear I will."

"Serena, you know Mike was just kidding around," Emily pulled on her arm, "Just go back to the bath. You still kind of stink and…"

"Ji's old enough to be my father!"

"I'll talk to Mike about it later," Emily continued to pull, trying to get Serena to leave the room. Serena shook her head and turned to Jayden.

"You've got enough energy for another bath, right?"

"Sorry," Jayden shook his head, "I'm kind of tired."

"I'll have Mike bug Kevin and you and Ji can finish your…"

"No," Serena shook her head, "I'll live with the skunk smell. But tell that stupid fiancé of yours to sleep with one eye open tonight."

With that, Serena stormed out of the room. Emily whispered another apology to Antonio and raced out after her sister.

Antonio groaned, "Seriously? I know this place is small but can't people interrupt someone else? Are you sure you don't have enough energy for another bath."

"Of course I do," Jayden chuckled.

Antonio looked to his boyfriend curiously, "Wait, then why are Ji and Serena…"

"One more word out of you, Michael, and I'll throw you from the balcony!" Serena's screams came from the other room.

Jayden chuckled, "Because I knew this would be entertaining."

Antonio sighed and shook his head, "Really, Jayden? And to put Mentor in the middle of it all…"

"I know Ji," Jayden said, "He wouldn't do anything to make Serena uncomfortable and vice versa. Mike on the other hand was sure to piss Serena off with the comments."

"Sneaky."

"And now, Emily's going to be busy trying to keep Mike alive. We have the room to ourselves for the night."

"Very sneaky," Antonio smirked.

Jayden nodded, "I'm not ready for that step, but that doesn't mean I don't like what we have. I love you, Antonio."

"I love you too, Jay."


End file.
